The Irish fought red-hot Michigan State to a 1-1 tie Thursday night, and Notre Dame picked up an extra CCHA point by winning the shootout 2-1.
Freshman winger Kyle Palmieri scored the only goal for Notre Dame when he found the back of the net 13:36 into the second period. Trailing junior defenseman Ian Cole in the Spartan zone, Palmieri redirected Cole's centering feed past Michigan State goalie Drew Palmisano for the Irish lead.
Late in the middle stanza, Notre Dame senior winger Ryan Thang was whisled for hitting from behind, giving Michigan State a five-minute power play that carried over to the third period.
The Irish killed the penalty, but gave up the equalizer less than two minutes later, 6:26 into the period. After a brief scramble in front of the net, Spartan freshman Derek Grant pushed a rebound past Notre Dame freshman goalie Mike Johnson, who saved 23 shots on the night.
After a scoreless overtime period, the teams moved to a shootout. Both teams scored once in the first three shooters, pushing the shootout to sudden death. Irish senior left wing Dan Kissel beat Palmisano, and Johnson stopped Spartan Nick Sucharski to give the Irish the extra point.
The teams meet again in Fort Wayne, Ind., Sunday at 4:05 p.m.
